Blanchet echoes Trump, says Trudeau using tariffs for gain

At least one federal leader is echoing U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is using the tariff issue to his own party’s advantage.

Source: CPAC

At least one federal leader is echoing U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is using the tariff issue to his own party’s advantage.

Bloc Quebecois leader Yves-Francois Blanchet says that he “doesn’t believe Trump wants to annex Canada”, dismissing the ideas as “Trump’s fantasy”

At a Parliament Hill press conference on Wednesday, the Bloc leader further explained that he believes “Trudeau is really trying to mobilize liberals” using Trump’s rhetoric. 

Blanchet underscored in French that “he wanted to see an election campaign” in which the Bloc would offer Quebecers an election platform focused on defending the economy rather than the French identity being the party’s focal point. 

Yesterday, President Trump posted on Truth Social, praising Mexico’s president for cooperating when he announced a reprieve to the tariffs for Mexico. 

On the same day, Trump accused Trudeau of exploiting the crisis to cling to power and who he said was“doing a terrible job for Canada.

At a press conference in Ottawa on Thursday, Trudeau rejected allegations by Trump that he would stay on as prime minister. 

Both Trump and Blanchet have accused him of leveraging the crisis for political gain. Trump announced a one-month reprieve on Thursday, this time on tariffs on Mexico and Canada for goods covered by the USMCA trade deal. 

Around 36 per cent of Canadian imports into the US are not covered by the USMCA agreement, but a White House official said that in the future they will be treated as if they were at the customs.